Researched Misunderstandings
by FlowersRcute
Summary: Sakura finds Naruto in the library and misunderstands the reason behind his research. Sakura finds herself embarrassed and touched when, after furiously trying to stop his plans, she discovers the real reason he was snoozing in the library. [NaruSaku]


Hey everyone! Finally, I finished this story. It's been lying around on my computer for way too long, but I got it done today.

**Warning:** If you've never read the manga, then there might be some spoilers for you in here. If you've read the manga past the "Find Gaara" arc, then it should be fine.

**Rating:** PG -There is nothing in here that really constitutes a rating, but since Naruto is generally rated PG, I thought this rating would do for my fic.

**Pairing:** Naruto x Sakura

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto!

**Researched Misunderstandings **

by FlowersRcute

* * *

Sakura's eye twitched. The sound was really starting to get to her. She was in the library, doing some extra studying on healing jutsu used throughout the ages. She had hoped to find something that could tell her how to deal with wounds caused by the bijuu's chakra, and was thus looking through some of the older records located farther away from the medical section. But it was impossible to concentrate, especially with…

"HGRAAH, weeewh, HGRAAH, weeewh, HGRAAH, weewh…"

That incessant snoring.

Sakura thought it sounded much like Naruto, but she knew he wouldn't dare enter the library. He found it "too uncomfortable". She had thought of searching for the culprit, but then again, she found it unnecessary to irk herself over such inconsequential matters. She would just end up losing her temper, and she doubted Tsunade would appreciate her for destroying the library just to teach some jerk a lesson.

"HGRAAH, weeewh, HGRAAH, weeewh, HGRAAH, weewh…"

Sakura cringed. One more time, just one more time, and she would…

"Sakura?" came a voice. Sakura looked up to find Shikamaru towering over the table she was working at.

"Shikamaru-kun. What are you doing here?" Sakura asked curiously. "I thought libraries would be on your list of things that were too troublesome," she added teasingly.

"Hn, normally it would. I thought I'd just do some research…" he said, folding his arms behind his head in what he hoped was a languid pose. Sakura thought she saw a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Oh, really? About what?" Sakura asked, her interest peaked.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to reply, but his words were cut off by…

"HGRAAH, weeewh, HGRAAH, weeewh, HGRAAH, weewh…"

"That's it!" Sakura yelled, slamming her hands on the table as she stood up. "I'm going to find that jerk and teach him a lesson!"

"Oh, you mean the snoring?" Shikamaru asked. "It's quite troublesome. I couldn't even get him to wake up."

"Who?" Sakura asked, glaring.

"Eh, you didn't know? Naruto's sleeping at one of the tables in the medical section," he replied lazily.

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered the name under her breath as she would a curse. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru-kun, I'll have to leave you now. Good luck with your research!" Sakura said over-cheerfully before she stormed off to find Naruto.

"Ch, so troublesome," Shikamaru whispered, watching Sakura's progress through the library. "Now where were did I see those books?" he asked himself silently. He had promised both Asuma-sensei and Kurenei-sensei that he would help out, though he wouldn't be of much assistance if he didn't brush up on the topic first. Even geniuses like him didn't instinctively know how to deal with children.

ooooo

"HGRAAH, weeewh, HGRAAH, weeewh, HGRAAH, weewh…"

Naruto was sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of the hurricane heading his way.

Sakura, on the other hand, was like a one-man stampede. She looked neither left nor right. She knew where he was, and was heading straight for him. Finally reaching the bookcase that held the information on all the advanced and recently developed medical jutsu, Sakura slowed slightly. There, just a few metres away, was the object of her annoyance.

"Naruto, I'm going to…" she started yelling, picking up speed again as she headed towards him. She quickly cut herself off, however, coming to a complete halt.

In front of her was a scene that she never thought she would see. Naruto's body was spread over a book he had been reading, his mouth slightly open. Around him lay several other books, and some scrolls she recognised as those she used when studying with Tsunade.

"Naruto, what…?" she whispered, walking slowly and quietly over to him. Once she reached the table, she was close enough to read the titles on the books. All of them were medically-related books; some journals kept by high-ranking medic-nins to report their findings. The book he appeared to have been reading before he fell asleep seemed to deal with healing major bruises and stopping heavy bleeding. Why on earth would he read such books? Was he planning some sort of dangerous mission?

Sakura's heart suddenly started beating faster. What if…? What if he was planning on going after Sasuke alone, and was reading up on medical jutsu so that he could heal himself if the need arose? And from the titles that lay strewn around him, he was expecting himself to get hurt pretty badly.

"No. No, no, no…" Sakura whispered, shaking her head. Naruto was thoughtless at times, but he certainly wasn't suicidal. He wouldn't risk everything just to get Sasuke back, unless it was for someone special…

Sakura gasped. Of course! He had promised her, with heart and soul, that he would bring Sasuke back for her. She always knew Naruto liked her, but she never knew that he would go to such extremes just to make her happy. If Naruto got hurt chasing after Sasuke, it would be all her fault. All her fault…

Sakura bit her lip. She couldn't let Naruto do this. She walked around the table and lightly shook Naruto's shoulder. It had no affect. "Naruto…" she called, shaking his shoulder a little harder. Still, there was no result. "Wake up, you idiot!" she finally yelled, slapping the back of his head.

"Huh? What's going on?" Naruto mumbled, groggily lifting himself off the table. After blinking a few times, he seemed to notice her. "Huh? Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?" he asked, looking at her with eyes still heavy with sleep.

"I could ask you the same question," she said testily, placing her hands on her hips.

"I was doing some research, but it was so boring I fell asleep," Naruto said, being his usual blunt and honest self.

"Naruto! What are you thinking!? Planning something like this?" she asked, wildly gesturing at the books strewn over the table.

"I was just trying to find a way to help you," Naruto said in a depressed voice, looking down. "I don't want to hurt you anymore…" With that, Naruto got up and left, leaving Sakura to stare after him worriedly.

ooooo

Thunder struck. Sakura ran down the streets of Konoha, frantically trying to locate Naruto. It had been three days since their encounter in the library, and she hadn't seen him since. This morning when she had gone to his house, the lady next door had told her that he had left the house late last night and hadn't returned as yet. This had awakened Sakura's fear. He had gone ahead with his mission, despite her attempts to stop him.

Thunder struck once more. Shortly afterwards, rain started pouring from the dark clouds that hovered over the village. Sakura stopped by a bench, trying to catch her breath. "I don't want to hurt you anymore…" Naruto's words had been replaying in her mind since she heard them. He didn't want to hurt her. Could he blame himself for her pain? Could he feel that it was because of him that she spent sleepless nights staring out her window, waiting for Sasuke to return? But how could he? It wasn't his fault that Sasuke left… It wasn't his fault that she loved Sasuke. Why would Naruto have said something like that?

Her thoughts were interrupted by sounds coming from the village's entrance. Through the haze of rain, she could barely make out the shapes of four persons, one with the distinct hairstyle that only Naruto wore. Sakura ran towards them as fast as her feet could carry. Was Naruto okay? Did he find Sasuke?

"Naruto! Naruto!" she called, waving at him. He turned his head in her direction, a puzzled expression appearing on his face when he saw who it was who was calling him.

"Sakura-chan?" he mumbled, squinting through the rain.

Sakura ran faster, and when she was finally close enough to see him properly, she let out a sigh of relief. He was safe; he didn't get hurt. She continued running, finally coming to halt right in front of Naruto. "Naruto," she said simply, throwing her arms around his neck in embrace. Naruto hesitantly placed his arms around her, awkwardly patting her back.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" he asked tenderly.

"I'm just glad you're safe," she said, burying her face in the crook of his neck. At this, Naruto blushed a brilliant shade of red.

"Eh, sure Sakura-chan," Naruto said uneasily. "It was just a scouting mission."

"A what?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded, stepping away from him.

"A scouting mission," Naruto repeated, scratching the back of his head. "It was just to make sure that the surrounding forest was still a good fortification against attack from enemy villages."

"You dobe!" Sakura yelled, grinding her knuckles into the top of his skull.

"Ow, what was that for, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, rubbing his head.

"You had me worried like that over a stupid scouting mission?" she yelled.

"Awe, Sakura-chan, you were worried about me?" Naruto asked, smiling brightly, making Sakura blush madly. This caught the attention of the other three shinobi still gathered around Konoha's entrance. Naruto saw this, and winked at them. They snickered softly and, taking the hint, left Naruto and Sakura alone in the rain.

"What did you think I was doing?" Naruto asked, a little more serious now.

"Well, after what I saw in the library, I thought you had gone ahead with your stupid plan," Sakura said, embarrassed.

"My plan?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Yes," Sakura affirmed, and then added quickly, "But it's not your fault, Naruto! You can't control what happened!"

"That's no excuse, Sakura," Naruto said softly, casting his eyes downwards. "I should have been able to control it, but I couldn't. And you got hurt because of it."

"It's not your fault Sasuke left," Sakura replied, touching her hand to his cheek.

"Huh?" Naruto's face fell into its usual baffled expression. "What's Sasuke got to do with it?"

"Wait. This has nothing to do with Sasuke?" Sakura asked, dropping her hand to her side.

"You're confusing me, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, pouting.

"Your research in the library!" she yelled, exasperated. "It was about finding Sasuke, wasn't it?"

"No," Naruto said bluntly.

"Then what?" she asked defiantly, placing her hands on her hips.

"It was about you," Naruto said. Sakura frowned, and he continued, "Remember when Team Kakashi set out to meet the spy in Orochimau's midst? And I lost control of the kiyuubi?" Sakura nodded. "I hurt you, remember? I hurt you without even knowing it. I was in the library because I wanted to learn some medical jutsu so that I could heal you if it ever happened again."

Sakura stared at him. She wanted to say that he was being stupid; that that wasn't his fault either. She wanted to say that the medical jutsu he was researching wouldn't be able to heal those kinds of wounds anyway. But she didn't. Instead, she hugged him, and whispered warmly, "Thank you, Naruto. Thank you so much." For a while Naruto was too shocked to do anything, but eventually he allowed himself to relax in her embrace and hugged her back.

They stood like that for a while, until Sakura felt, rather than heard, Naruto's stomach grumbling against hers. She laughed out loud and let go of him. "Come on," Sakura said, grabbing his hand. "I'll treat you to some ramen."

"Pervert-sennin says girls shouldn't pay, so I'll pay," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

Sakura laughed again, and said, "That's even better!" Naruto's face dropped slightly when he realised what he had offered, but he perked up again when he felt Sakura squeezing his hand. Perhaps, just this once, he was willing to actually pay for someone _else_'s ramen, if that someone else was Sakura.

* * *

Done! I hope you enjoyed it. It wasn't terribly fluffy (or terribly good, for that matter). And no kiss either, but it wouldn't have fit with the story. I know that Kakashi wasn't with them when they set out to find the spy working in Orochimaru's midst, but they were still called Team Kakashi, just in case anyone wondered.  
Constructive criticism is welcomed and much appreciated!

Thanks for the read!  
FlowersRcute


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